Ruth agreed. "I have seen pictures of such a camp, with the
Indians attacking."

"Yes. Well, but you see," cackled the old woman suddenly, "them, Indians
didn't attack at all. They rode down at a gallop, I expect, and scared
the white folks a lot But what they come for was to see if there was a
doctor in the party. Those Indians had heard of white doctors and knowed
what they could do. The chief of the tribe had a favorite child that was
very sick, and he come to see if a white doctor could save his child's
life."

"Oh!" cried Ruth, her eyes sparkling. "What an idea!"

"Well, my pretty, I dunno," said Aunt Alvirah. "'Twas sensible enough, I
should say, for that Indian chief to want the best doctoring there was
for his child. The medicine men had tried to cure the poor little thing
and failed. I expect even Red Indians sometimes love their children."

"Why, of course, Aunt Alvirah. And you ought to see how lovable this
girl Wonota is."

"Mm--well, mebbe. Anyway, there was a doctor in that party my
great-grandmother traveled with, and he rode to the Indian village and
cured the sick child. And for the rest of their journey across them
plains Indians, first of one tribe, then of another, rode with the party
of whites. And they never had no trouble."

"Isn't that great!" cried Ruth.

And when she told Helen and Jennie about it--and the idea it had given
Ruth for a screen story--her two chums agreed that it was "perfectly
great."

So Ruth was hard at work on a scenario, or detailed plot, even before
Mr. Hammond made his arrangements with the Indian Department for the
transferring of the services of Princess Wonota from Dakota Joe's Wild
West Show to the Alectrion Film Corporation for a certain number of
months.

The matter had now gone so far that it could not be kept from Dakota
Joe. He had spent money and pulled all the wires he could at the
reservation to keep "Dead-Shot" Wonota in his employ. At first he did
not realize that any outside agency was at work against him and for die
girl's benefit.

Ruth and her friends drove to a distant town to see the Indian girl when
the Wild West Show played for two days. They attended the matinee and
saw Wonota between the two performances and had dinner with her at the
local hotel. After dinner they all went to an attorney's office, where
the papers in the case were ready, and Wonota signed her new contract
and Helen and Jennie were two of the witnesses thereto. Mr. Hammo